I have received a response back from the CA with a very attractive buy price. I will be signing the paperwork this weekend. Once done, I'll post the details in the thread of other deals.

Even though I provide an Excel attachment from BMWconfig, I suspect that the CA didn't see the file (even though he asked for it). Once I pasted the info into the body of the message there was a better dialog with specific information.

I don't doubt that the forum sponsors would meet my expectations. But I was hoping for a local deal. This would make it easier for my wife to have a contact for service and/or issues with her soon to be ordered X3.

The best car deals I've gotten were always negotiated via email. Just did this with my M3 through David Aviles and a month ago through a semi-local dealer for my wife's X3.

I always give the local dealers a chance....

Agreed... I have always had the best luck negotiating from a distance (via phone, email, ect). When we bought our 550 we had it shipped from Florida to New England, and it was still cheaper than the local guys. M3 came from Vermont the same way.

Local guys always get a shot because I feel it's right to support the locals... But, I won't over pay to do it.

Buying through email and phone is the best way. I never walked into the dealership, it simply gives the SA to much leverage these days.

I can also vouch that doing those post purchase surveys matter greatly. I put some extra effort to explaining what things could be improved and answered the extra questionnaire, and I was called back by the dealership the same day because my experience wasn't a "perfect 10" and was offered free accessories for the car.

David!! Good to see you on here.
Did you move out of Passport? i emailed Kevin Mellett but heard nothing when I was trying to find your contact info.

OP go to David. I refer a lot of people personally to David. Whether they actually purchase is another topic. Process was great, the only way i prefer to buy a car.

Red!! I'm actually at Northwest BMW in Baltimore. Kevin no longer works at passport either and actually had a very bad accident. Google "man crushed at Annapolis car wash". Miraculously he's alive and recovering.

Been doing really well. Could be better if I had more BMW allocation to sell though. The ride to work and then home in my Fire Orange M3 gets me over that.

All the best,

David M Aviles

__________________

David M. Aviles
The ///M is for Motorsport, 5-time M Sales Award Winner
Get your Ultimate Quote at www.BMWDavid.com
202-262-2900 to save time and $$$
Steve Thomas BMW, Ten-time Center of Excellence

Red!! I'm actually at Northwest BMW in Baltimore. Kevin no longer works at passport either and actually had a very bad accident. Google "man crushed at Annapolis car wash". Miraculously he's alive and recovering.

To the OP, I had a similar experience in the past two weeks here locally in Columbus, OH where the CA I spoke with initially seemed to be very up-front and helpful but in subsequent conversations I felt as though I was being hurried to order the car (M3). I also felt like a number of my questions were being shrugged off including incentives I felt I qualified for (USAA) where he said they were expired when I knew they were not, and also no explanation on why the money factor was marked up so high compared to the base rate. Once I began working with an Internet sales CA in Cincinnati I had a completely different experience and was able to get an amazing deal on an M3 lease with no pressure or complications and everything was explained in plain English and all my questions were answered satisfactorily. I understand wanting to work with a local CA to develop a relationship with that dealer, but I'm fine with building a relationship with one that's less than 2 hours away!